Processing Gerber files for manufacturing printed circuit boards

Moreno-B́aez, Arturo; Leon, Gerardo Miramontes-de; Garcia-Dominguez, Ernesto; Sifuentes-Gallardo, Claudia

doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2012.04.186

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…One of the present levels in this type of system is Computer Numerical Control (CNC) technology [4]. This type of technology operation is based on the analysis of a Gerber file, which contains coordinates and instructions executed by a machine [5]. The main advantages of the implementation of CNC systems are their accuracy, reliability, and the reduction of human error.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Printed Circuit Board Drilling Machine Using Recyclables

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The implementation of a printed circuit board (PCB) drilling machine using recyclable materials and computer-aided control is presented. A mechanical system using a DC motor for movement on the X and Y axes, and a transmission mechanism by belts, pulleys, and a worm screw was made. For the Z axis, a mechanism based on a worm screw, nuts, and a stepper motor was implemented. The main board has two microcontrollers communicating in a master-slave configuration via a serial protocol. A real-time operating system (OSA) was implemented to optimize the data flow to the computer using the USB protocol, for communication with the slave microcontroller, positioning the Cartesian axes, and control the motors. The slave is responsible for monitoring the status of the encoders and limit switches, as well as the information delivery to the master. A Matlab-based user interface was developed to determine the coordinates of the holes to be drilled by processing a jpg image. This also allows the user to control the DC motors using PWM signals via configurable parameters of PID controllers. The end result is a drilling machine which able to operate both manually and via a computer, for drilling PCBs of a maximum size of 24 × 40 cm.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%